Rod guide



D. E. SABLE May 6, 1969 Filed Aug. 16, 1967 L D Id E INVENTOR one .8 ble f d ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 308-4 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A guide for a sucker rod employed to actuate a pump connected in the tubing of the well whose body is formed of a resilient substance and adapted to resiliently grip the rod.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 551,161, filed May 18, 1966.

This invention relates to well tools and more particularly to rod guides employed to actuate a pump connected in the tubing of a well.

An object of this invention is to provide a guide which is easily and quickly mountable on a sucker rod and which will grip the sucker rod to hold it against movement of the rod.

Another object is to provide a guide having a resilient body with top and bottom portions provided with longitudinal bores therethrough, the axes of the bores of the top and bottom portions being misaligned whereby when the guide is mounted on a sucker rod with the rod extending through the longitudinal bores of the top and bottom body portions, the body is resiliently distorted as the top and bottom body portions are moved to position their bores in axial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the rod causing the top and bottom body portions to exert oppositely directed transverse forces on the rod thereby causing the body to grip the rod with considerably greater force than if the longitudinal bores were initially and inherently in axial alignment.

Another object is to provide a sucker rod of the type described wherein the inherent configuration of thebody is such that the axes of the longitudinal bores of the body extend angularly relative to one another.

Still another object is to provide a sucker rod of the type described wherein the longitudinal bores of the top and bottom body portions extend parallel to and are spaced from one another.

Still another object is to provide a rod guide whose longitudinal bores are of slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the rod on which the guide is rotatable so that the top and bottom portions of the body will exert radially inwardly directed gripping forces on the rod.

A further object of the invention is to provide a guide of the type described wherein the body is provided with a mounting slot having diametrically opposite longitudinally spaced longitudinal sections which open from the longitudinal bores of the top and bottom portions to the exterior of the body and a central transverse section opening to adjacent ends of the longitudinal sections and of the longitudinal bores.

A further object is to provide a guide of the type described wherein each longitudinal section of the mounting slot is defined by longitudinally extending surfaces of the body which converge outwardly from the longitudinal bore of the body toward the periphery of the body to minimize the degree of flexure of the top and bottom body portions necessary to permit passage of the sucker rod through the longitudinal sections into the longitudinal bores in order to minimize the interruptions in the external circumferential surface of the body provided by the slots.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the reading of the following description of a device constructed in accordance with the invention, and reference to the accompanying drawings thereof, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view with some parts broken away of a guide embodying the invention mounted on a sucker rod and located within a flow conductor, such as a string of tubing;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the guide in its inherent configuration;

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 2 but showing the manner in which the axes of the upper and lower portions of the central passage are aligned when a rod is positioned thereon;

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the guide illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 3 and shown mounted on a sucker rod;

FIGURE 5 is a side view of another form of the guide embodying the invention;

FIGURE 6 is a top view of the guide illustrated in FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a sectional view taken on line 77 of FIGURE 6.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 1 through 4 of the drawings, the guide 10 embodying the invention is mount-able on a sucker rod R which is reciprocably movable in a well flow conductor T such as the string of well tubing, to actuate a pump (not shown) which moves well fluids upwardly through the flow conductor to the surface of the well. The guide includes a body 11 of somewhat resilient substance, such as rubber, nylon and the like having top and bottom body portions 12 and 13 provided with longitudinal bores 14 and 15, respectively, which are of a diameter slightly smaller than the diameter of the sucker rod R. The central longitudinal axes L1 and L2 of the top and bottom portions and of their bores 14 and 15 extend angularly relative to one another when the body is in its initial inherent configuration. The top and bottom portions extend at an angle to each other.

The body has a mounting slot which includes a trans verse section 16 which defines the top and bottom portions of the body, an upper longitudinal section 17 in the top body portion which opens to the longitudinal bore 14 thereof, and a lower section 18 in the bottom body portion which opens to the lower longitudinal bore 15.

The longitudinal sections 17 and 18 of the mounting slot open at their inner ends to opposite ends of the transverse section 16 of the slot and at their outer ends open up wardly and downwardly, respectively, through the top and bot-tom end surfaces 19 and 20, respectively, of the body. 3,

The upper longitudinal section 17 of the mounting slot is defined by a pair of vertical surfaces 21 and 22 which extend convergently outwardly from the bore 14 to the cylindrical outer surface 23 of the top body portion. Similarly the lower longitudinal section 18 of the mounting slot is defined by a pair of outwardly convergent surfaces 24 and 25 which extend from the bore 15 to the external cylindrical surface 27 of the bottom body portions. The widths of the longitudinal slot sections 17 and 18 adjacent the outer cylindrical surfaces 23 and 24, respectively is smaller than the diameter of the rod and of the longitudinal bore of the upper and lower body sections. The transverse section 16 is of a width substantially equal to the diameter of the rod and is defined by the facing surfaces 29 and 30.

The body 11 has a bevel surface 31 which slopes downwardly and outwardly from the top surface 19 to the surface 23 and also a lower beveled surface 32 which slopes upwardly and outwardly from its bottom end surface 20 to the surface 27.

The body inherently has the configuration or shape illustrated in FIGURE 2 so that the top and bottom portions 12 and 13 above and below the transverse section 16 of the mounting slot are somewhat misaligned. The outer surface of the body will assume a cylindrical form only if the top body portion is resiliently flexed in a counterclockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 2 relative to the bottom body portion. The body will of course resiliently yieldably resist this movement of its body portions from the portion as illustrated in FIGURES 1, 3

and 4 wherein the central longitudinal axes of the top and bottom body portion and of their bores are aligned and coincident with the central longitudinal axis of the rod R.

In use, when it is desired to secure the rod guide on the sucker rod R, the guide body is first moved to a transverse position relative to the rod with the transverse section 16 of its mounting slot S in alignment with the rod and then is moved toward the rod until the rod is received in the transverse slot and is in alignment with the inner ends of the longitudinal sections 17 and 18 of the mounting slot. The guide is then rotated about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rod to cause the rod to be received in the longitudinal slot sections.

As the body is pivoted in this manner, the outer portions of the surfaces 21 and 23 defining the upper longitudinal slot section 17 and the outer portions of the surfaces 24 and 25 defining the lower longitudinal slot section 18 engage the external surfaces of the rod and, since the diameter of the rod is greater than the widths of the longitudinal slot sections, the portions of the guide body on opposite sides of the longitudinal slot sections are deformed resiliently, outwardly, by engagement with the rod as the body is moved to the position on the rod illustrated in FIGURES l, 3 and 4 wherein the rod extends through the longitudinal bores 17 and 18. Their outer surfaces of the top and bottom 'body portions then lie in a cylindrical plane whose longitudinal axis is concentric with the longitudinal central axis of the rod. The outward convergence of the surfaces defining the longitudinal upper and lower mounting slot sections minimizes the outward flexure or deformation of the portions of the top and bottom body portions on opposite sides of the longitudinal slot sections 17 and 18, respectively as the body is moved toward position wherein the rod is disposed in the inner portions of the longitudinal sections. It will be apparent that if the widths of the slots were radially uniform as the rod was moved progressively into radially inner portions of the longitudinal slot sections, the outward deformation of the top and bottom body portions along longitudinal lines diametrically opposed to the longitudinal slot sections 17 and 18, respectively, would increase progressively until the rod was received in the longitudinal bores.

The radially outward decrease in the widths of the longitudinal slot sections also minimizes the interruption in the outer cylindrical surface of the body while providing a longitudinal flow passage of substantial orifice for facilitating the flow of well fluids past the guide.

Since the bores 14 and are of slightly smaller diameter than the rod and since the top and bottom body portions are resiliently flexed into longitudinal alignment as the rod is received in the longitudinal bores, the guide body will grip the rod not only with radially inwardly directed forces due to the fact that the diameter of its bores 14 and 15 is somewhat smaller than the diameter of the rod but also with transverse forces exerted in diametrically oppositely directed forces along its top and bottom body portions.

As seen in FIGURE 3, the top body portion 12 exerts a force directed to the right on the rod and the bottom body portion exerts a force directed to the left. As a result, the body exerts a torsional clockwise force, FIGURE 3, about an axis which extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis of the rod.

Referring now particularly to FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings, the rod guide 10a is similar in configuration to the rod guide 10 and, accordingly, its elements have been provided with the same reference numerals, to which the subscript a, has been added as the corresponding elements of the body 10. The rod guide 10a differs from the guide 10 in that the outer surfaces of its top and bottom body portions lie in a common cylindrical plane and the central axes L1 and L2 of the central passages 14a and 15a are parallel but spaced slightly from each other. When the guide body 10a is mounted on the rod with the rod extending through the bores 14a and 15a of the top and bottom body portions, top and bottom portions of the body exert diametrically opposite forces on the rod that the body is held against movement on the rod shank not only by the radially inward forces exerted by the body due to the fact that the bores 14a and 15a are of slightly smaller diameter than the rod but also due to the torsional forces caused by the misalignment of the two passages 14a 15a. It would be apparent that the body deforms resiliently as it is mounted on the rod.

It will now be seen that due to the provision of a body whose longitudinal top and bottom portions have rod receiving longitudinal bores which are misaligned, either angularly or laterally, causes the body to grip the rod with a greater force than if the bores were in axial vertical alignment when the body is in its initial inherent configuration.

It will further be seen that the flexion of the top and bottom portions at the locations diametrically opposed from their rotary slot sections 17 and 18 during the mounting of the guides on the rods is minimized for a given effective orifice of the slot sections by causing the sides of the body portion defining the longitudinal slot sections to converge outwardly from the longitudinal bores thereof.

It will further be seen that, if desired, the axes of the bores could be misaligned angularly and also be displaced laterally from each other.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A guide for a sucker rod comprising: a resilient body having top and bottom portions having longitudinal bores, said body having a longitudinal mounting slot therethrough communicating with said bores of said top and bottom portions, said slot having two longitudinal sections opening in mutually opposite radial directions, said longitudinal sections being narrower in width at their inner portions than the diameter of the rod, said slot having a transverse section joining said longitudinal section, the longitudinal axes of said bores of said top and bottom body portions being misaligned.

2. The guide of claim 1, wherein the axes of said bores extend angularly relative to one another.

3. The guide of claim 1 wherein the axes of said bores are parallel and spaced from one another.

4. The guide of claim 1, wherein said longitudinal sections of said slot decrease in width from said bores to the external surfaces of said body portions.

5. The guide of claim 4, wherein the axes of said bores extend angularly relative to one another.

6. The guide of claim 4, wherein the axes of said bores are parallel and spaced from one another.

7. The guide of claim 2, wherein the top and bottom portions have external surfaces lying in cylindrical planes concentric with the axes of the bores thereof.

8. A guide for a sucker rod comprising: a resilient body having top and bottom portions having longitudinal bores, said body having a longitudinal mounting slot therethrough communicating with said bores of said top and bottom portions, said slot having two longitudinal sections opening in mutually opposite radial directions, said longitudinal sections being narrower in width at their inner por- 1,897,507 2/1933 Morgan 166'176 tions than the diameter of the rod, said slot having a trans- 2,793,917 5/1957 Ward. verse section joining said longitudinal section, said longi- 2,870,845 1/1959 Tripplehorn 166-176 tudinal sections of said slot being of narrower width adja- 2,997,106 8/ 1961 Tripplehorn 166176 cent outer surfaces of said body portion than adjacent said 5 3,083,772 4/ 1962 Tripplehorn 166175 bores of said body portions. 3,186,773 6/ 1965 Harris.

9. The guide of claim 1, wherein said longitudinal sec- 3,282,344 11/1966 Tripplehorn. tions of said slot decrease progressively in width from said bores to external surfaces of said body portions. GAR W. GEOGHEGA Pri ary Examiner- References Cited 10 L. L. JOHNSON, Asszstant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENTS US. Cl. X.R. 812,413 2/1906 Downs. 29451; 287-111; 166-176, 241 

